STARKVILLE, Miss. – Redshirt sophomore right-hander Preston Brown struck out seven as White cruised to an 8-3 victory against Maroon in Game 1 of Mississippi State’s annual Bulldog World Series Wednesday night at Dudy Noble Field. Game two of the best-of-five series takes place Friday at 5 p.m. Admission to the seven-inning exhibition is free.

Brown was dominant from the get-go, giving up two runs (one earned) on two hits and two walks. The right-handed starter fanned seven batters in 5.0 innings, being replaced by freshman left-hander Glenn Irby after a leadoff walk in the sixth. Junior righty Will Cox finished the game for White, hurling two shutout stanzas with three strikeouts and no walks.

Redshirt junior and team captain Wes Rea led the offense for White, finishing 2-for-3 with three RBIs in the five hole. The four white teammates above Rea in the order junior Jake Vickerson, senior Demarcus Henderson, redshirt freshman Daniel Garner, senior Brett Pirtle) did their part as well, combining to go 6-for-12 with five runs, four RBIs and a double.

White drew first blood in the first when Rea came within inches of a grand slam to left field. With the bases juiced, Rea launched a ball deep into the Mississippi night. The ball fell to the ground just past the outstretched arm of Maroon’s left fielder, allowing Henderson and Garner to score.

Leading 2-0, the home team broke it open with a four-run second. After a walk by freshman Dylan Ingram and a sacrifice bunt by freshman Gavin Collins, sophomore Jacob Robson hit an opposite field single to put runners on the corners. Next, Vickerson drove in Ingram with a groundout to second base. With Robson on second, Henderson hit a worm burner up the middle with an RBI single. Garner then hit a double down the line in left, allowing Henderson to tap the dish. Up 5-0, Pirtle finished off the scoring in the inning by plating Garner with an RBI single to right.

True freshman Reid Humphreys added to the lead in the third when he doubled down the right-field line and eventually scored on a Robson RBI base knock.

Trailing 7-0, Maroon attempted to come back in the fourth when senior Alex Detz scored on an RBI base hit to right field by true freshman Brent Rooker. The visitors added two more in the six when junior Seth Heck scored on a RBI single by redshirt freshman Zack Randolph and Detz crossed home for the second time with an infield single by sophomore Kyle Hann.

The final run of the game occurred in the sixth when Henderson scored on a single by Rea.